Graduate School: Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-MadisonPost-doctoral Fellowship: Pharmacology, University of Iowa

Research InterestsCa2+ is critical for modulating numerous cellular processes in excitable cells such as action potential duration, myocyte contraction, secretion, energy production, and gene expression. We are interested in how excitable cells such as cardiomyocytes modulate intracellular Ca2+ concentration and to what degree individual levels of control affect cellular and in vivo function. We hypothesize that dynamic Ca2+ regulation is critical for normal cellular function and that mechanisms that interfere with this process underlie pathological disease. Specifically, we are focused on how Ca2+ enters cells through L-type Ca2+ channels and how intracellular Ca2+ is sensed and integrated by mitochondria to adapt to changing energy demands. The CaV1.2 L-type calcium channel is the major route of Ca2+ influx in the heart and brain. CaV1.2 is both positively and negatively regulated by Ca2+ in addition to kinases, phosphatases, and the cytoskeleton. Dr. Hall has long been interested in how individual subunits and regulators within the CaV1.2 macromolecular signaling complex assemble to regulate channel function. More recently, we have expanded our research interests to determine how mitochondrial function integrates and shapes cellular responses. We are taking novel genetic approaches to target L-type Ca2+ channels and mitochondrial components with the goal of examining their functional relevance in vivo.